The proposal would divide the state's colleges and universities into different sections, governed by different boards: the Louisiana State University system (for research institutions), the University of Louisiana system (for regional institutions) and the Louisiana Community and Technical College system.
A bill, sponsored by Rep. Joe Harrison, introduced the idea, then stalled in the House Education Committee in March. But on Tuesday, the committee approved a resolution that the Louisiana Board of Regents conduct a study on the feasibility of the bill's proposal. The resolution nows heads to the full House for consideration.
The plan would reshuffle some of the state universities (several would move from the University of Louisiana system to the Louisiana State University system, and the Southern University System would be completely dismantled).
“We need to become more accessible and stop the redundancies,” Harrison said during Tuesday's committee hearing, according to the (Lafourche Parish) Daily Comet.
In a fiscal note on the bill, the state's university systems estimated several million dollars in costs to implement the plan for fiscal year 2013, paying for legal services, financial services and other general expenses.
